Vacancies in Public Housing Portfolio

As of Fairbury Housing Authority’s most recent Resident Characteristics Report (June 30, 2015), the 16-month average number of units occupied was 59 out of a total 60 rental units. This represents a 16-month average vacany rate of 1.67%.

Family Type

Of the 56 households who reported head of household data in the housing authority’s most recent RCR report, 18 (32.14%) were elderly, 38 (67.86%) were non-elderly, 28 (50%) were disabled, 6 (10.71%) contained children and
6 (10.71%) were headed by a female.

Tenant Contributions to Rent

Residents of public housing pay rent based on their income. The rent contribution of the tenant is called the Total Tenant Payment (TTP). The TTP is generally 30% of a residents income with a $25 (National minimum) to $50 (some PHA’s) minimum rent. Based on the information in the most recent Resident Characteristics Report (June 30, 2015) the minimum rent in Fairbury Housing Authority's public housing developments is $50.

The average tenant rent contribution for Fairbury Housing Authority’s public housing developments is $374.

The TTP distribution across all public housing units in the Fairbury Housing Authority portfolio is:

Project

$0

$1-25

$26-50

$51-100

$101-200

$201-350

$351-500

$500 and Up

Parkview Manor

0%

0%

2%

3%

3%

53%

14%

25%

The average tenant contribution for elderly residents residing in all properties across the housing authority’s public housing portfolio is $310. The average rent payment for disabled residents is $359. The average TTP for non-elderly, non-disabled renters in the housing authority’s public housing units is $719. Households headed by females had a total tenant payment of $289.

Race and Ethnicity

The HUD Resident Characteristics Report provides updated Head of Household race and ethnicity data at the housing authority and property level. Across all properties in the Fairbury Housing Authority portfolio, 0% of households identified as Black, 98% identified as White, and 2% identified as Hispanic or Latino.

Income of Public Housing Residents

HUD divides household income into four categories: Extremely Low Income (ELI) for households earning less than 30% of the median, Very Low Income (VLI) for households earning between 30% and 50% of the median, Low Income (LI) for households earning between 50% and 80% of the median and Above Low Income for households earning 81% of the median and over.

Of the public housing residents residing in Fairbury Housing Authority properties, 12 were Extremely Low Income, 26 were Very Low Income, 17 were Low Income and 4 were Above Low Income.

The average annual income of public housing residents living in Fairbury Housing Authority properties is $15,881. Of all public housing residents, 2% have no income and 14% earn more than $25,000 while 84% have incomes that fall between $0 and $25,000.

The distribution of incomes among the housing authority’s public housing residents is:

No Income

$1-5,000

$5,001-10,000

$10,001-15,000

$15,001-20,000

$20,001-25,000

$25,000 and Up

2%

3%

14%

41%

12%

15%

14%

The HUD RCR data includes source of income information as well. The data includes five categories of family income: wage income, welfare income, SSI/SS/Pension income, other income and no income. Some families receive income in multiple categories.

Among families residing in Fairbury Housing Authority public housing 49% have wage income, 2% have welfare income, 56% have SSI/SS/Pension income, 5% have other income and 2% have no income.

Household Information of Public Housing Residents

As of the last HUD RCR report (June 30, 2015), there were a total of 59 households containing 72 total persons residing in the housing authority’s public housing properties. The average household size across all properties in the housing authority’s public housing portfolio was 1.2.

Across all units operated by the housing authority, 10.71% of households included children. Across all household members in Fairbury Housing Authority public houins units 5.6% are aged zero to five and 4.2% are aged 6 to 17.

30.6% of all residents across the housing authority were age 62 or older and are considered seniors while 59.7% of all residents were aged 18 to 61.

Length of Stay at Public Housing Properties

The HUD RCR report includes length of stay data for Fairbury Housing Authority public housing communities. 49.15% of all families residing in public housing have lived there for less than 1 year, 18.64% have lived in public housing for 1 to 2 years while 32.21% have lived in public housing for more than 2 years.

Public housing authorities provide several affordable housing assistance programs to renters and sometimes homeowners. Most of these programs are funded by the Federal government through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The two primary housing programs administered by housing authorities are the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program and the Low Rent Housing Program, also known as Public Housing.

Section 8 vouchers provide a rental subsidy to renters that absorbs housing costs that exceed 30% of their income. Renters can use the voucher to rent private housing in apartment communities or privately owned homes. The rent is capped based on a Payment Standard that is determined by the housing authority based on market rents in the target area. Section 8 assistance is very limited across the country and typically waiting lists for the assistance can stretch out for a decade.

Public housing is rental housing owned and managed by housing authorities. Renters pay only 30% of their adjusted income. Typically, public housing consists of apartment developments but sometimes can be scattered single family homes in some suburban or rural housing authorities. Public housing was the first form of affordable housing provided to low income Americans. It is one of the oldest housing assistance programs in the country.

Every public housing project is inspected every one to three years by HUD.

As of the last set of publicly available data, Fairbury Housing Authority manages one rental property which has an inspection score of
92.
To be a passing score, a public housing property must have a score of 60 or more.
As of the last set of publicly available data, Parkview Manor has a passing score.

Source United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (data.gov, 2014)

All public housing projects and privately owned rental properties with project-based Section 8 contracts are inspected every 1 to 3 years by HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC). The mission of REAC is to insure that HUD’s multifamily portfolio is well maintained, free of health and safety risks for tenants and to prevent waste, fraud and abuse in HUD’s multifamily programs.

The highest REAC score possible is 100 points. Points are awarded in five inspectable areas: site, building exteriors, common areas, systems and units. Points may be weighted differently for different property types. For example, an urban property with little to no grounds might have a score weighted more on the building exteriors and less on the site whereas a suburban property with acres of land will be weighted more on the site review.

The frequency of REAC inspections is determined by the last REAC score a property received. If a property receives a REAC score of 90 or higher, the next REAC inspection will be scheduled in 3 years. Scores of 80 to 89 require re-inspection in 2 years and scores of 60 to 79 require re-inspection in a year.

A score of less than 60 is considered failing. Scores of 31 to 59 require re-inspection in 60 days and scores of 30 or lower are referred to a HUD Enforcement Center for corrective action.

Score are often followed by a letter or asterisk. A score followed by the letter “a” signifies that no health and safety concerns were noted. A score followed by the letter “b” denote non life threatening health and safety issues were discovered in the inspection. Scores followed by the letter “c” had at least one life threatening health and safety issue. If the score is followed by an asterisk (*) this means that there was at least one non-functioning smoke detector discovered in the inspection.

The REAC score of a property is a good reflection of the overall quality of the property and the experience residents will have. Prospective renters should use the REAC score as an overall reading of how the property is maintained and the quality of management. Properties with lower scores should be avoided.

Housing Authority Annual and 5 Year Plans

Public housing agencies, also called public housing authorities, which receive funding from HUD,
are required to submit and receive approval from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development of
both an Annual Plan and a 5 Year Plan. These plans establish each housing authority’s policies,
strategies, programs and operations for meeting the housing needs of persons within their target area.

The housing authority plans include specific details about the cost of renovations to real
estate (also known as capital improvements), changes to Section 8 HCV policies, planned redevelopment of
public housing projects and other major administrative changes.

Following are the HUD-approved public housing agency plans for Fairbury Housing Authority.